OUR
STORY
Kaiser Brothers Brewery – craft beers inspired by a centuries-old Bavarian family recipe brewed in Christchurch the Kiwi way.
Three German-Kiwi brothers, whose great uncle established Bavaria’s renowned Kaiser Brewery, established the brewery in 2016 remaining true to their heritage – making real beer for beer lovers to enjoy.
Just like those made in Bavaria using the original 1862 brew recipe, we make Kaiser Brothers Brewery beers honestly for flavour and taste. As it was in the 1800’s Kaiser Brothers beers are made by real people using real, quality local ingredients.
We start with Canterbury’s world-renowned artisan water and the finest ingredients from the pristine South Island. Delivering on our honesty policy we add yeast which is true to the style of beer. You’ll taste Germanic yeast in our Pilsener and Weizen, English yeast in ESB and (you guessed it) American yeast for our APA.
This range of beers is approachable (we don’t try to wow with fancy names and crazy packaging) and always available. Whatever the day, whatever the weather, beer lovers can always enjoy Kaiser Brothers Brewery Pilsner, ESB, APA and Weizen.
Beer requires real ingredients grown from the land and therefore real beers mirror the seasons. So from time to time, our Kaiser Brothers Brewery brew crew mix it up, having fun with styles and recipes creating special limited release and seasonal craft beers to reflect the taste of the region and its growing season.
Even though the original brew recipe came from the other side of the world, Kaiser Brothers Brewery isn’t over the top, confusing or pretentious. Even with our Bavarian heritage Kaiser Brothers Brewery beers are Kiwi-as, we craft them to be confident in a genuine down-to-earth, full-flavoured Kiwi way.
No-one says it better than our Kaiser Brothers Brewing Captain, Dicky;
‘We’ve taken a piece of Bavarian family heritage and brewed it our way -
the Aotearoa way’.
All this makes Kaiser Brothers Brewery the perfect choice for honest, flavoursome Kiwi craft beer.
Kaiser Bros is our new name. It's concise (which we like) and is easier to say!
As of last year, the passion we pour into our craft has gone next level. We have an experimental micro brewery residing upstairs at the Riverside Market (our spiritual home) at the Kaiser Brew Garden.
We release a brew, we taste and savour the majesty of our stunning ingredients in all their glory. It’s what we call ‘Brewery Fresh’, and it’s what truly sets our beers apart from the rest. Once we are happy with it, we make more of it here at our Kaiser Bros Brewery.
THE HISTORY OF KAISER
Beer pulses through the family of the three German-born, Kiwi Giesen brothers, founders of Kaiser Brothers Brewery. While Theo, Alex and Marcel Giesen are known globally for establishing Giesen Wines, their family brewing pedigree is lesser known.
This Kiwi brewing story starts with an 1860’s family beer recipe from their mother’s family the Kaisers. They successfully ran the Kaiser Brewery in Bavaria from 1930s until the 1970s, when it was purchased by brewing giant Heineken.
The Giesen Brothers were inspired to give brewing a go after being given the handwritten family beer recipe when visiting their German cousins. Always ones to grab an opportunity, and thinking of the fun they could have with their own beers, in 2016 the trio established Kaiser Brothers Brewery in Christchurch.
As it was when the beer was first brewed in the 1860s, Kaiser Brothers Brewery beers are crafted by real people using real, quality local ingredients and made for beer lovers to enjoy.
Nowadays, when the three Giesen brothers share their love of life; bringing family and friends together around the table to enjoy good food, great wines and a few laughs, they take pride in sharing flavoursome Kaiser Brothers Brewery craft beer.